“At a time when much media negativity surrounds Apple stock, it is important to remember that most of the media was expressing positive views on Apple stock when it was $700,” Nigam Arora writes for MarketWatch. “Sentiment can change quickly. One potential development on the horizon that may change said sentiment is a new look at wearable gadgets.”
“Steve Jobs totally transformed smartphones when he introduced the first iPhone,” Arora writes. “Jobs’ genius was integrating the available technology in an elegant user-friendly device. The iPhone not only transformed smartphones, it was the main force behind Apple becoming, at least at one time, the largest company in the world by market capitalization. About 70% of Apple’s profits in recent years have come from iPhones.”
“The market for wearable gadgets today is similar to the market for smartphones before the introduction of iPhone,” Arora writes. “There are many wearable gadgets available today, but none of them have caught on. Apple’s archrival Google has released Google Glass. Google Glass is worn like a regular pair of glasses, but comes with an optical head-mount display. However, it is expensive, and reviews so far in terms of comfort and looks have been mixed. This is not much different than smartphones prior to iPhone.”
Arora writes, “Tim Cook seems to be on the right track. ‘There are lots of gadgets in this space right now, but there’s nothing great out there,’ Cook said at D11 conference. ‘But none of them are going to convince a kid that hasn’t worn glasses or a band to wear one. There are a lot of problems to solve in this space. It’s ripe for exploration. I think there will be tons of companies playing in this space.'”
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